Acquired: The Dude’s Baseball Shirt

The film character Jeffrey Lebowski, colloquially known as “The Dude,” is well known for his fashion choices. A personal favorite of mine as a baseball fan comes from the “Requiem” scene, in which The Big Lebowski informs The Dude that the former’s wife has been kidnapped. The Dude arrives wearing this shirt:

I recently acquired this shirt from Found Item Clothing, and I’m told the “Little Lebowski” store in Manhattan also carries it. As you can see, it’s a faithful reproduction:

The best detail? The player in the shirt was a real Japanese player by the name of Kaoru Betto. Betto was, according to the Baseball-Reference bullpen, one of Japan’s first power hitters. He also owned arguably the best baseball nickname possible: “The Gentleman of Baseball.” I know I wish that was my nickname.

Also worth noting: the shirt was apparently a favorite of Bridges, as he also wore it in the films Cold Feet and The Fisher King.